Broman, Roy Mar 7.13 PLAY

How did we play? Depending on our ages the toys we used changed over time. The toys we had were variable from simple things such as building blocks, Plasticine, crayons, coloring books to somewhat more complex such as Tinker Toys, Lincoln logs, dress up dolls, toy ovens and even electric trains. But much of the play involved being creative, inventive and using our imagination. For girls, dress up worked well. Getting into mom's makeup or perfume was a bonus. On another day, a pot, pan, wooden spoon or any other handy object often served the purpose. Nothing like a broom to make a horse. Hi Ho Silver away! Although there may have been an adult around, we were generally left to our own devices in terms of play. As we developed we played more outdoors. Balls were involved sooner or later. Playing baseball with one to eighteen was no problem. We were adaptable. Alone, bouncing a ball off a wall and catching it sufficed. With luck a ball, bat and a willing dog to run the ball down. The ball got more and more slippery with each return of the ball by the tail wagging friend. Playing 500 with a few was satisfactory. Variations abound till it became a full fledged game. There were standard ways in which to choose sides. No adults need be involved. Not that adults were a detriment, it was the reality that we could play on our own. In school, recess was a favorite time to play yet again. Marbles, jacks, yo-yos, skipping rope, tag, pig in the middle. There was not a problem in finding something to occupy our time. Little did we realize that we were learning while playing. Anger did not gain any points. Cheaters never prosper. No fighting. Rules applied to everyone. We learned team work. We learned to help each other and the list of good things grew as did the list of things that were a disadvantage. Lending and borrowing came somewhat more naturally as we grew. Not every one had a baseball bat. Only a few had a basketball. If there were places to go and things to do, we did not run to our parents, we just organized ourselves and went and did whatever it was that was on the agenda for the day. Activities were often spontaneous. What should we do? Let's do this or that! A decision was made and the activity was on. We were much more free to roam and we did so, mostly walking from place to place. Our playground was large. Literally the whole West End with a bonus of Stanley Park could and would be used. It doesn't get much better than that. Make do was the theme of our childhood. If we didn't have something, we made a substitute that would work. We were diligent in our play. Success and failure was a reality. We kept score. There were winners and losers in some games. Losing was not the end of the world. Charlie Brown came back game after game and so did we. Catering to feelings was not on the agenda. For girls to be tomboys was just fine (in today's politically correct climate what do we call a tom-boy? This word just wreaks of male chauvinism). Bangs, bumps and bruises were common, but we just got up, dusted ourselves off and carried on. Did we have off days? Of course as that was part of growing up, but we got over the dip in the road and got on with life. Did we make mistakes and get into trouble. Certainly. Not that we were in street roaming gangs or a threat to the community. Just dumb kids trying something new or even repetitive if we got away with it before. At times, we were engaged in activities that were less than ideal. Picking on others, bullying, name calling, shunning and similar socially inappropriate behaviors were a part of our lives. After all, we were not angels. We had our moments. There were consequences for missteps. Parents had their methods. We were sent to the principal's office. Sometimes there were more adverse consequences. In spite of our independent activities, we knew that there were adult controls. Standards of attitude and behavior were expected. Parents controlled the home (good, bad, indifferent or otherwise). Teachers controlled classrooms. Adults controlled the community at large. In general, we paid attention to these constraints without complaining much. Complaining in our day really didn't gain much momentum and in fact could result in negative results. Were adults involved in our play? There were many occasions where adults were involved in our play. Organized sports, school dances, non-school sports activities, music lessons to name a few. With organized sports, not every one made the team. Adults were involved in teaching skills, more often than not at our request. Learning to cook, sew, hand crafts, wood working, soldering, simple mechanical work and other skills. We learned by hands on with adults supervising more than doing. Indeed adults were at times a necessity. We were generally confident, adaptable, inventive, adventurous, independent, wanderers, self-reliant, spontaneous and fortunately we developed positive qualities. Over time we gradually discarded behaviors that were counter productive to ourselves, family, friends and community. We grew up and took responsibility for our lives and were accountable for our words and deeds. Now we have problems with our children. There are contributing factors that affect them all. There are more adverse diagnoses placed upon children. Some real and some probably imagined. ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, ASD, Asperger's syndrome, autism, together with a myriad of other diagnoses. Psychological diagnoses are more prevalent including serious diagnoses as major depression and suicidal tendencies. These are issues that did not exist in our formative years. A major problem is the moral decay, decadence and depravity brought about by moral relativism. There is no right or wrong. If it feels good it must be right is the mantra of today's mentality. With the counter culture pot smoking anti-establishment hippies of the 60s, disregard of the nuclear family emerged and has flourished. Over time, politicians and bureaucrats interfered more and more with social engineering. The war on poverty of LBJohnson in the USA fed the decline and fall of the family. Roe vs. Wade added to the mix. Welfare entitlements soared. Out of wedlock pregnancies increased with resultant negative results. Societal attitudes and behaviors that are acceptable today would have been rejected in our day. Safety of today's children is now a major concern and is probably a major cause of restraint in many activities especially outdoors and in public areas. Often the basics of food, shelter, clothing and a safe sanctuary are deficient. This can be too little and at times too much. Malnourishment includes not only calorie deprivation but includes calorie excesses with super-sized unbalanced food choices. Obesity is rampant with the ultimate degenerative health consequences. This was not an overnight change, but an insidious and progressive decline. What may be called Dr. Spockism may be implicated with an attitude of reduced parental controls. Let the child do what they want, when, where, how with no restraints and unhealthy indulgence in mal-behavior. The pendulum swing from control to permissiveness brought with it a multitude of problems. Far too often children run the household. Children fail to learn the basic skills in order to function in a community. Temper tantrums in the super market and so on. For many children today play is not the norm. Being entertained is the norm. Unfortunately for far too many it is being ignored or worse still, abused in various ways. Healthy spontaneous play is often suppressed as an unintended consequence of today's fast paced society. We may even implicate day care and pre-school which in many cases is really an exercise in crowd control on the part of the involved adults. Schools with their pablum filled curricula that do little to educate and often suppress enthusiasm for learning including learning by play. There is a pervasive attitude of feeling good at all costs imposed upon children. Parents work and return home tired, stressed and not well equipped to deal with children anxious to play with mom or dad. Other parents contribute to this phenomenon with over scheduled activities. There is an inevitable increase in stress levels for parent and child. The rushed meals at home and worse at the local fast food emporium. Quick, order a belly bomb, large fries and a chocolate shake. Hurry and eat. We don't have any more time, throw the rest away. Play dates were unheard of in our day. Technology rules in the home. Thumbs are the only muscles being exercised. What is heard and seen through various media sources? Social isolation is increasing as face to face contact is diminished and texting reaches epidemic proportions. We even have a new language arising before our eyes--a language that leads to confusion. LOL or LOL? Lots of love or laugh out loud. Inside and outside changes are taking place. Play is necessary for normal development. A certain degree of autonomy is desirable, not to ignore parental guidance when necessary to avoid hazards. Parents are often too directive. Play is NOT for the parents' agenda. Directive parents often decide what to play, when to play, how to play, and how fast to play. Directive parents tend to be bossy. Constant correcting limits a child's creativity. Healthy play is important for both child and parent. Play teaches a child how to manage negative emotions and experiences. Lifelong lessons are learned. Children may learn flexibility, perseverance, cooperation and social skills. Healthy play is important for both child and parent. Fathers and mothers bring different things to a child's development. Yes, there is a significant difference between a father and a mother: biology counts. Clear boundaries are necessary which reduces uncertainty. Uncertainty is stressful to all. Consistency is likewise an important component for a healthy environment. Probably above all, warmth and love engenders a place for comfortable exploratory and imagination driven play. We all know the benefits of a strong nuclear family. You know one like June Cleaver in leave it to Beaver, or the Partridge family with one parent, or the blended family of the Brady Bunch. The ideal statistical family is mother and father and 2.3 children (what is 0.3 of a child, perhaps it has something to do with Solomon). There are often pets; a dog, cat, 2 goldfish and possibly an iguana. Outliers from the statistical norm are not restricted by statistics. Single parent families, blended families, dysfunctional families, indigent or wealthy can all have healthy play available for the children.

Calderhead (Panton), Glo Mar 3.13 PLAY

I remember having great fun by hanging on to a rope and swinging out over the train tracks. This tree was located a few blocks from our house. We loved it when a train came, it made it very exciting! I loved your article to the paper and feel exactly the same. I always wondered why parents today are so scared that someone will steal their children. The facts are that, most people wouldn’t want them! They are over protected, self- indulged brats and need constant stimulation. Give them freedom and play……

School playground. RB

Anti-over has been mentioned and qualified as a bona fide school playground activity. What else did we do, boys, girls, both? Marbles. Mentioned before, but need some elaboration. Conventional game with marbles in the middle. Everyone had a favorite shooter. Aggies and cat's eyes were primo possessions. Nothing like having pocketful of marbles. Steelies not allowed! (ball bearings in disguise). Does anyone recall the marble game at Dawson played outside the fence with five holes? If so, freshen our memories. Hand ball at Dawson. We used to play using the south end of the KGHS building. Don't recall the rules. Just a lot of fun. Had to be careful not to fall off the edge of the pavement. What other games? Hopscotch? Skip rope. Singles and doubles and something about double Dutch. Who was custodian of the rope? Was there a tetherball on the grounds? Another game could have been four square but not convinced that was standard for Dawson. What other activities for the girls? Tree tag was made for Dawson. Along the north end of the playground there was a concrete fence topped by a barred fence. Next to the fence were some trees (chestnut I believe). The rules were very simple. Conventional tag with the restriction that you could only climb a tree by jumping from the concrete fence to one of the trees or back as necessity dictated. Not sure what grades we were in but it was popular for quite some time. British bulldog. We played this game on the north side of St. Andrew's Wesley church (possibly the First Baptist Church). It was a rather narrow piece of grass and not too long. Made for a lot of physical contact. We would play until it was almost dark some evenings. Playing in the neighborhood. Going back in time, does anyone remember having a tricycle? How about roller skates that clamped onto your shoes? Always had to have the key on a string around your neck. Scooters? Fruit box home made scooter? No mini wheel No razor scooters, no inline skates, no skateboards, no motorized scooters, and definitely no pads or no helmets. Our typical first bike was a coaster bike. One speed. If we were lucky we may progress to a three speed bike with internal gears. Now we were fat cats. Approved accessories were a bag behind the seat, sometimes a rack above the rear wheel. The workhorse for carrying was a rack on the front which if overloaded could be somewhat dangerous and prone to tipping. A bell or better still a squeeze bulb horn were desirable. A generator with variable light output from dill to a dull yellow. No fancy flashing LEDs for us. Some of us were obliged to use bicycle clips on our right pant leg to avoid catching our pants in the chain and gear. Some, of course, had a chain guard. Those that were fastidious had a little leather ring attached to the hub of the rear wheel to keep the dirt from gathering. Periodic careful oiling was necessary but often neglected. For adventurous days, a playing card attached to the frame with a close pin and rubbing against the spokes provided a satisfactory motor noise. Probably annoying and distracting for parents. No 10 to 24 speed bikes. No mountain bikes, no acrobatic bikes and the like.